KHSAA By-Law 23, Sec. (10) Beginning July 22 through July 31…
a. Practice may be conducted in shells (shorts, helmets, shoulder pads) for each player who has had at least five days in helmets…
It’s called “shells” and it is significant in the football world because it signifies that full-contact practice, full-contact scrimmages, and then (of course) the real deal is literally just around the corner. We thought it would be fun to ask some of Kentucky’s best high school players from around the commonwealth what the start of getting to don shoulder pads means to them.
The players we consulted are anywhere from neophytes to grizzled and accomplished veterans of high school play and here is what they had to say about today’s significance…
Cade Bleidt, Trigg County High School, 5-10, 180 pound LB, Class of 2020…
I am thrilled to get to practice finally after having just attended the Governor’s Scholar Program for the previous five weeks. I can’t wait to get out there and practice with my brothers.
I may have to put in my five days in a helmet, but when I finally get to put on some pads it will signify to me that my senior season, playing a sport I love so well, is finally beginning.
It’s time to get to work. This is going to be a big, big year for my Wildcat brothers and me. It’s finally time to get on the field.
Ethan Wolford, 2018 AP All-State Football Team, Belfry High School, 6-2, 285 pound OC, Class of 2020…
When I put my helmet and shoulder-pads on and take the field, I immediately get pumped and my adrenaline kicks it into hyper-drive. All I’m thinking is how I can’t wait to hit or block somebody and get this season rolling.
I realize I will have to wait a little longer to go full speed but there’s just something about wearing shoulder pads which signifies to a real football player the swim suit competition is over and it is time to get down to the meat and potatoes. It’s getting time to discover who really has the heart to play this game.
Charles Andrew Collins, 2018 All-State Honorably Mentioned Coaches and AP, Breathitt County High School, 5-11, 185-pounds, Class of 2020…
Putting on the shoulder pads was exactly what we needed. People tend to get a little too high on themselves just competing in passing leagues or during the one on ones at combines. Seeing how a man plays football padded up teaches you who can really do what and which players will have your back and make plays when push come to shove.
Anybody can catch a ball when they know they aren’t going to get hit. How good are you when you’re getting your bell rung? Do you catch the ball when you get your clock cleaned? That is what a football team needs to know. Those are the real football players.
Grayson Cook, 2018 AP All-State Football Team, Belfry High School, 6-4, 220 pound, OLB-TE, Class of 2020…
There are teams from across Kentucky who really thrive on how well the 7 on 7 team plays. Sevens league is not football.
It isn’t football until you come across my zone and catch a ball knowing I am about to lay you out. That is when you discover whether or not this game is a game for you.
I agree with Baker Mayfield, football isn’t for everyone. Running up and down the field in shorts and a shirt catching footballs or throwing a football, under no rush with no threat of being nailed, isn’t football.
It’s tossing frisbee at the park with a funny looking frisbee. Today marks another day closer to our discovering who the football players really are. Who the champions really are.
William Long, 2018 AP All-State Football Team, Breathitt County High School, 5-10, 255 pounds, OC/NG/DT, Class of 2021…
The first day in shoulder pads is always fun because you’re finally playing something which resembles football. We still have some days to go before we are fully padded and going full speed with contact, but this is a step closer to the real thing.
Football is a contact sport and you really don’t know what a player can do, or how he will perform, until he’s performed before, during, and after contact. For instance, offensively, I play center. It is not exactly easy to go to a Sevens’ tournament and deliver a ton of snaps, on the money, to the QB even without getting hit. If you don’t believe me, squat on down there and give it a shot.
However, that pales in comparison to getting over a ball knowing a 300-pound NG is going to fire off while your attempting to snap the ball and try to de-capitate you. It requires you to manage the snap and your adrenaline all while simultaneously making your first power step and punch as you get into the engagement phase with the defensive lineman.
Somehow, your expected to do all of this while blocking a player, often significantly larger than you, who had the benefit of not having to deliver a perfect 5-7 yard, upside-down, spiral to his QB. Sevens football can’t simulate that. Non-contact work can’t simulate that. Sometimes even practice is a poor substitute.
Today, we begin the process of separating the men from the boys. It is a wheat from the chaff kind of thing, if you will. Today starts real practice.
Braeden Babin, KPGFootball Sophomore All-State Team, Christian Academy-Louisville, 6-0, 210 pounds, FB/LB/NG, Class of 2021…
I can’t wait to represent CAL as defending State Champs and start HITTING! Today isn’t the day we get to begin full contact work, but it always feels a lot closer to that time when we put on the shoulder pads.
Brandt Babin, KPGFootball Sophomore All-State Team, Chrstian Academy-Louisville, 6-1, 213 pounds, RB/LB, Class of 2021…
Last year, we ran out of teams to play. Going 15-0 and winning it all in Class 2A was incredible but it made me even hungrier. This year, we step up to Class 3A and we are ready for another run to the Title. Sevens football is fun and all, but I am excited to put on the shoulder-pads today and begin getting to play defense and getting physical.
Bracken Castle, KPGFootball MS All-State 2018, FBU Top-Gun, Knox Central HS, 6-2, 270 pounds, OC, Class of 2023…
I realize I am new and a lot of this process is also new to me. However, I’m really excited about getting the season rolling. I’ve been looking forward to Friday night lights and getting back to doing what I love. Getting to put on shoulder pads as we progress to the full-gear, full-contact period is just inching closer to my freshman year and my finding out how I stack up with much older players.
There it is folks; straight from the mouths of the horses who will actually run the race in 2019 on Friday nights, thrilling us with their play. We reached out to other players from around Kentucky but these were the ones who responded.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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